Building Government on Flimsy Foundations: Redesigning Constitutional Creation Processes

The land creates the foundation upon which the people are born.The people create the foundation upon which the chief is born.

–Ke Kaao Hooniua Puuwai noKa-Miki, 1916

Genuine nation-building must happen from the ground up. Instead, Naʻi Aupuni is attempting to slap a government together while neglecting basic principles of good governance: inclusiveness, transparency, and education. The convention, or ʻAha, that Naʻi Aupuni is convening begins today at the private Royal Hawaiian Golf Course, and both private security and HPD will be there to keep people out. Apparently unaware of the multiple layers of irony, Naʻi Aupuni issued a press release stating that: “In order to foster a good dialogue…